Photos by Hugh Hudson

Shallow reefs, deep and shallow wrecks, sanctuary protected marine life and year round diving. Okay, no shore diving to speak of, but there are plenty of good reasons that Key Largo is a popular destination for divers from across the country and around the world.  It is ideal for beginners with reefs that are 30-40 feet in depth and advanced and technical divers can explore deeper wrecks like the 510-foot USS Spiegel Grove to the extent that their training allows.

Key Largo – known outside the dive community for the classic Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall film (not to mention the later song by Bertie Higgins) – is the first populated town as you leave the Florida mainland peninsula and make your way south to Key West and the southernmost point in the United States. Key Largo is also home to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the first underwater park established in the U.S., and the iconic, much-photographed Christ of the Abyss statue sits in only 25 feet of water at a site called Dry Rocks. It is, however, the sheer multitude of dive sites and dive operations that makes Key Largo a favored spot. If you want extra details about the geological underpinning of Key Largo’s diving, check out http://www.fla-keys.com/keylargo/keylargodivewonderland.cfm, but for the sake of this post, let’s focus on the more than 50 regularly visited sites that are available within a 40-minute boat ride.  With the third largest barrier reef in the world, the sites are a mix of natural reefs and numerous genuine wrecks in scattered debris fields as well as ships deployed as artificial reefs. The older, genuine wrecks have little structure remaining as is to be expected in warm salt water, but they provide great habitats for creatures large and small.

Everyone loves the turtles that live on Key Largo reefs

While you do not, in general, have the profusion of colorful corals and sponges of many places in the Caribbean, abundant and healthy marine life is to be seen within moments of slipping underwater.  “The usual suspects” will be multiple varieties of snapper, parrotfish (including the beautiful midnight variety), barracuda, angelfish, butterfly fish, trumpetfish, grunts, hog fish, file fish, lizardfish, squirrelfish, trunkfish, damselfish, eels, southern stingrays, turtles, nurse sharks, groupers, (including goliaths), sea cucumbers, shrimp, and lobsters. A hundred other species could be named and seeing dolphins on the ride to or from the sites is not unusual, nor is the appearance of manatees in the canals. Snapper Ledge gets its name from the fact that schools of fish are often so dense that they obscure sections of the reef. For those who happen to be in the water at the right time and location, there are occasional visits from a cruising hammerhead, a manta ray, or even a whale shark, and technical divers who go to the really deep wrecks such as the Northern Lights will often encounter bull sharks.

The growth on the USS Spiegel Grove, the 510-foot ship off Key Largo can be seen as this scrawled file fish swims by

Although the reliability of Key Largo weather can be impacted by either storms or systems that bring in high winds and the water temperature does drop to around 70 degrees in the winter months, charters go out every day of the year, conditions permitting. Granted, there is an element of amusement when locals hesitate to dive with air and in water with a temperature in the low 70s, while visitors escaping snow and ice are happy with the balmy weather.  However, when it is chilly, appropriate protection with layering is in order for the boat ride. March through mid-May usually brings air temperature in the 80s and the water moving up to 75+ degrees, and by the end of May through late September, hot is the word. Hats, sunscreen, and hydration are all important. October is a toss-up with heat that usually comes down in November.

Visibility and currents on the deep wrecks will often vary more than on the reefs and a normal day for the reefs will be 50-60 feet of visibility and mild current, with frequent days of 70-100 feet. For those who appreciate technology, there is a NOAA tower mounted at Molasses Reef and you can access it for the latest conditions. (http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=mlrf1)

Choosing among approximately two dozen dive centers in Key Largo might be the difficult part, and that very much becomes a personal choice. Some shops specialize in a maximum of six passengers, others have the 14 passenger boats, and several operators have the large boats that carry between 30 and 42 passengers. The larger operators may have two different size boats that can be a factor if traveling with a group of mixed levels.  Many of the dive shops have their own dock and others have a storefront with their boat at a nearby marina. There are resorts that have the complete package of lodging, on-site dive center, and restaurant. Individual dive centers may well have discount arrangements with hotel and restaurants, so check that when you either call a dive shop or look at a web site.

Southern stingrays are seen more commonly on the reefs, than are eagle and lemon rays

There are three particular things to know about dive centers in Key Largo.  The first is a regional Coast Guard requirement for a mate to remain on board with the captain any time there are more than six customers. This means that unlike in most other places, dive centers, in general, do not put a dive master into the water with divers because that would mean having two dive masters per trip which would then increase the per dive cost. Some dive centers have chosen to either absorb that cost or pass it on, but if you want a guide, you will need to ask the direct question. Hiring a guide will be an additional charge and also leads to the next item. The scuba community standard policy is that if a diver has not been in the water for a year, the shop could very well require the diver to have a guide for the first trip and this will be an additional cost. If it has been two or more years since last diving there may be a need for a refresher course. The third item is for those who wish to dive the deep wrecks of the Bibb, Duane, and USS Spiegel Grove. These are advanced dives with the community standard of showing proof of advanced certification, documented wreck and deep experience, or to be in the company of a guide in order to do the dive. Even though you can dive a small part of the Spiegel at approximately 65 feet, most of the ship is at 80 feet or below and current can be challenging. Descending onto the 510-foot long ship is an awesome experience, but it is not for novices.  While the Bibb and Duane are not as large, they are older artificial reefs with significant marine growth.

Porcupine puffers are camera shy, but seen fairly often on the reefs

For planning purposes, Key Largo is a little over an hour from Miami International Airport during non-peak traffic time and Fort Lauderdale Airport is twenty minutes further north. The Florida Turnpike (toll road) is the most direct route and it ends in Florida City/Homestead as you pick up Highway 1 South, also known as the Overseas Highway. This is a two-lane road with only a couple of passing zones, so relax and watch for egrets, ospreys, herons, and other water fowl along the way.

Once you arrive in Key Largo, local directions tend to be given as Ocean Side or Bay Side and by Mile Marker rather than using street names.  As you drive south, the Atlantic Ocean is to your left (east) and Florida Bay to your right (west). The sunset restaurants are bay-side, but the dive sites are ocean-side and therefore about ten minutes less of a boat ride if the dive center you choose is located ocean-side.

Rubble around the reefs are favorite habitats for yellow head jawfish

If there is one thing that rivals the number of dive centers in Key Largo, that would be restaurants and bars. As you can imagine, there is a lot of outdoor dining, and casual is most assuredly the preferred attire. Claims to have the best conch fritters and key lime pie abound and while American cuisine and fresh seafood are what you find the most, you can get Italian, Mexican, Thai, and one or two others. Hog fish and lion fish might be on the menu – both are firm white fish that you won’t find offered in too many places and both are highly recommended.

Adult Goliath Grouper on Key Largo reef. (All photos from Hugh Hudson)

For your non-diving days, or if you have non-divers with you, other watersports are plentiful and the Wild Bird Center is a fun place to visit. A short trip south will take you to the Theater of the Sea or to the History of Diving Museum with its rich displays of 4,000 years of man’s attempts to temporarily exist beneath the waves. A short trip back north to Florida City and Homestead puts you at the doorstep of the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, the Coral Castle, and the Monkey Jungle. In fact, if hotel rooms are hard to find in Key Largo, Florida City and Homestead provide an easy alternative. If you want to take the Overseas Highway all the way south passing through Islamorada, Marathon, over the much-filmed Seven Mile Bridge and arriving in Key West, plan a full two hours. The scenic two-lane road has few places to pass.

Schools of fish such as these grunts are a common sight on reefs

Warm breezes, palm fronds rustling, tropical blossoms, parrots that streak overhead top side, with teeming marine life below. This is the Key Largo that you may not have visited for a while, or perhaps have never come to. It is a slice of paradise right here in the United States, and for those 300-plus days a year when Mother Nature isn’t being capricious, a healthy underwater world with the tiniest shrimp up to 600-pound goliath groupers awaits you.

An excellent web site for more information is http://www.fla-keys.com/keylargo